The joys of travel

Those who know me well are well aware of my extensive travel in the last 3 years. My first trip just unleashed an addiction that is uneasy to satisy. However, despite the tight budget, tiring journeys and the constant fight to find time, I found myself smile with a certain unexplainable pride when I get to see things like below. It's the same art piece, by the same artist. One is hanging in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain and the other above the Great Stair Hall in The Philadelphia Art Museum (yes.. the one with the Rocky steps).

Film Production Junkie

Will Smith was shooting his latest blockbuster inside the HUGO BOSS boutique on Fifth Avenue, NYC. The whole block was closed and production gears were all around. Huge HMIs on scissors lift and crane. Cool stuff. Huge trailers for production office, huge grip trucks, catering stuff. Cameras lying around. Exciting!! Sorry, I'm easily excited...

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At the end of it all, travelling is about an experience. It is whatever you feel in that moment, in that particular place listening to a significant sound around you, smelling the air of that place, and be grateful that you are there. It is addictive. It makes you crave for more. You want your experience to become plural.

You simply want more.

Life Imitates Art

Sunday, October 15
Today is Broadway Day. New York is Broadway and as cheesy as they are, you can't help falling for musicals. I know I can't help myself. I love them. I wanted to be one of them. I think that being able to sing and dance and entertain people is one of life's greatest gift and I admire those who can. Broadway is THE place for it. There are tons of show to watch and at some point you have to make a choice; and I chose the classics. RENT. One thousand twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. For a play that originated in the early 90s, it is amazing how relevant it is still today. Mark Cohen, who used work as an excuse to hide himself from failure of living. Maureen and Joanne who has to work on the intricacies of a relationship; be it same sex or straight and all the power play that comes with it. Mimi and Roger with past baggage needing to move on to the present. Drugs. HIV. Death. At some point of my life, I was one of those characters -- working and trying to deal with all sorts of issues which ultimately becomes a quest of finding love. To search for love of oneself, for others, for your significant other. To seek love.

I can relate to that.

CHICAGO. It is a musical that relies heavily on the performers and they were the best of the best. There was no fancy set design, no crazy costumes just talented performers singing, dancing, acting to their best. Great choreography, and fantastic lighting design. These are the exact reasons why I love theatre. For a few hours, I was transported to a different world. I was reminded of why I love theatre.

I should get back to that.

Out in New York

Friday, October 13

If I left my heart in San Francisco, then I dream about New York. It took 3 hours of bad traffic getting into the city, but the moment I could see the Manhattan skyline there was a smile that was impossible to erase from my face. My friend who met me at the station would looked at me from time to time and said, "Man, I still can't believe little Cynthia is in New York!!" Lil' Cynthia?? Okay, he's allowed to say that because he knew me when I was 19 and I was working as an intern and I was his assistant. It was a looooong time ago, but there I was -- all the way into NYC for his birthday party.

I could say that I went out in New York. It was a real night out in New York, with lots of booze and copious amount of fun and numerous photos to prove it. We came back at 5am. I couldn't remember the last time we were out till that late, and we went out early, too! When it comes to having fun, nothing beats good company and that we had plenty of.

Conversations about Vancouver with the 3C's

It rains in Vancouver. It is the soft rain that creates discomfort, but not enough to take you off work. As part of Canada it has serious passion for ice hockey; Canuks tickets are hard to get and expensive. It has the ocean and the mountains; and great mountains to hike on, too!

So the conversation goes like this... Between Indo C and LA C whilst walking towards dog beach.
C: This is nice
C: Vancouver is nice.
C: Uh huh
C: I could sooo moved here
C: Me, too
C: Wanna move here?
C: We should move here.
C: Let's move here
C: We're going to move here
....... and the Vancouver C laughs at us.

Shots of San Francisco

San Francisco reminds me of how nice it is to belong somewhere, to be a part of something and learn to find contentment in the things that you have. It is about looking in the right places for love and never take things for granted.

I left my heart in San Francisco

I left my heart in San Francisco. Is that the title of a song? It wasn't my first visit to the city but after the last 4 days, you can say that I fell in love with it for the second time. I only vaguely remember my first visit when I was 13. I remember the cool breeze and the 'niceness' of the place and simply loving it. This time around, it because of something completely different; SF reminds me of one my homes.

It was not architecture. It was a little bit of weather, a little bit ouf tourists, but most of all it was the whole feeling of it. San Francisco breathes a different air of classy laid back creativity, where people enjoy life and live it. I ended up comparing streets and areas to Melbourne, and being in San Francisco made me wanted to go back to Melbourne. Technically I love it because for the moment it's a substitute for something else; almost like a rebound. But I would still say that I left my heart in San Francisco. Given the time, it could be one of my many homes and then it would stop being a rebound city.

Moments

Brief encounters are amazing. People are fascinating. It never cease to amaze me how human beings can connect to each other at a very basic level. Of course, there are certain physical elements to that. Initial attractions are always physical. In the beginning it almost reduces human qualities back to pre-historic times. Whatever comes naturally. Live in the moment. Savours what is now.

I see those lips moving; words come out from them. My mind is like a void with noises flying in and out creating a bizarre consciousness. I thought to myself, "You are very kissable..." and not realising that I spoke my thoughts. Those lips stop moving. A pair of blue eyes staring intently into mine. Suddenly he entered my world through silence. Almost telepathic; exchanging chemicals, neutrons, energy or something. Or something.

I watch silence grows amongst us. Not uncomfortable, just... peaceful. It is a momentarily contentment that you get out of living the moment. Living it now.

LA is for happily ever after

I have said enough about LA, about the weather and a little bit about the wedding. Let the pictures speak a thousand words. Instead of having numbers on the tables, Sindy and Colin had keywords in three languages to mark them. Guess what ours was... We were on the friendship table. That's what you get for knowing each other for so long, and of course booking your overseas friends' 12 months in advance or in Sarah's case, making sure that her wedding is close enough to Sindy's so I can go, too. Friendships do that to people.

Passionately Consuming LA

North America has been good to me so far. The American west coast does have the perfect weather for living; it is no surprise that people flock from all over the world for the consistent sunshine and general coolness. As a person of the tropics, Los Angeles and San Francisco weather comes as a real blessing. I love the fact that I have to wear a few layers of clothing, jackets and things like that. I love the fact that I don't sweat all day. I love the fact that my face will not be oily the whole day.

LA is kinda pretencious; people look pretty everywhere (after all half the city is models or actors and the other half are models/actors wanna be). My friend said that she needs to move to a place that has less attractive people. Yes, my dear friend is still single and she feels that her chances in this big city is slowly diminishing as she grows older but that's another story. The other frustrating thing about LA is how it is impossible to navigate if you don't have a car. The feeling of dependency and immobility is not something I'm used to. The best thing about LA is work; especially if you are like me and you belong to the film production or media and entertainment. I was fortunate to visit a few facilities and met someone who belongs to the same industry and it was just rocking! It's friggin Hollywood. The buzz of the place is incredible!! It makes me tick, because here you're part of a grand masterplan.

I suppose it's the constant pull of positive and negative that makes the city so amazing. Before I saw the LA production people and facilities, I didn't really like the city at all. The moment I got a peek (... literally, a peek) I came to life. Some people call it consuming passion.

P.S. And I slept on the best bed ever!! Even if only for 2 nights...

The Big Day

Sindy and Colin
September 30th, 2006
California

"Somebody once said that the key to succesful marriage is to fall in love over and over again continuously... and to keep serving each other in love..." Three cheers for everlasting friendship, love and living happily ever after.